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Landsat 8

Overview

Launched on February 11, 2013, Landsat 8 (formerly the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, LDCM) is the future of Landsat satellites. It is collecting valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government.

The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth’s surface on a global basis. The data from Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth’s continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value.

Latest Updates

Landsat 8 OLI image prior to flooding on 7/14/17.
Landsat 8 OLI image after flooding from Hurricane Florence, acquired 9/19/18.
USGS's Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite has captured optical imagery of devastating flooding in the Carolinas from Hurricane Florence. NASA scientiets are using this imagery to help state and local agencies be better...

These images show lava observations from USGS helicopter thermal imagery and the NASA Landsat 8 and ESA Sentinel 2B satellites. The lava flow speed was calculated for the channel which opened on May 22nd from fissure 6 and 18 which reached the ocean sometime between May 23rd and May 24th. Using two satellite overpasses 12h 37min apart and the position of the head of the lava flow from LandSat 8 and Sentinel 2B, the inferred mean flow was near 2.6 m/min.
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Landsat 8 image aquired June 24th, 2018.
On June 3, 2018, torrents of hot ash, rock, and gas poured down ravines and stream channels on the slopes of Volcán de Fuego—Guatamala’s Volcano of Fire. More than three weeks after the eruption, the Landsat 8 satellite continued to detect elevated temperatures in some of the pyroclastic flow deposits. The avalanches of volcanic...

Detailed view of the Leilani Estates showing the previous rift and an overlaid infrared image of the new rift (acquired May 14th by the Landsat 8 OLI)
Zoomed out image acquired May 14th by the Landsat 8 OLI.
Though the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has been erupting continuously...

It is one of Central America’s most active volcanos. Volcán de Fuego puffs continuously without notice by nearby communities, punctuated by episodes with explosive activity, huge ash plumes, and lava flows.
The Guatemalan volcano is at it again, beginning its latest bout of unruly behavior on January 31, 2018. On the next day, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8...

Acquired October 11, 2017
Acquired October 11, 2017
Devastating wildfires have burned through California’s wine country since October 8, 2017, taking dozens of lives and leaving thousands of people homeless. Even communities distant from the fires have been plagued by ...

Landsat 7 image of flooding near near St. Peters, Missouri on May 9th, 2017.
Landsat 8 image showing the same area on April 28, 2016 for comparison.
In late April and early May 2017, heavy rains in the Midwest gave way to rising rivers and flooding. These false-color images from Landsat satellites show one affected area near St. Peters, Missouri, northwest of St. Louis.
The...

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These images from the Landsat 8 satellite show the effects of the recent wildfires in Guatemala on the Guatemala Mayan Biosphere Reserve.
The left image is a mosaic composite of Landsat images from 2016, and the right image is a Landsat 8 image from April 19, 2017.

On January 24, 2017, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired this false-color image of scorched land flanked by actively burning fires.
Wildfires continued to ravage Chile’s countryside in early February 2017, weeks after they flared up in mid-January. The blazes have thwarted firefighters’ efforts to control them, with new hot spots emerging daily. Satellite data and scientific analysis suggest the fires are among the worst the country has seen in decades....

False-color image from the Landsat 8 OLI that and combines shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and green light to provide a clear view of the charred landscape (dark red).
Natural color image from Landsat 8.
In late July 2016, an illegal campfire gave rise to the Soberanes fire that grew near...

The April 25, 2015 magnitude 7.8 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal produced a landslide dam on the Marshyangdi River, 1.1 miles (1,800 meters) upstream from the village of Lower Pisang. The dam has impounded the river, produced a landslide-dammed lake extending approximately 1,722 feet (525 meters) up the river, and satellite imagery shows that the lake area is expanding with time. Landslide dams can be inherently unstable and may fail suddenly, leading to...